Greg Jefferson: Corte heading for Iraq

State Rep. Frank Corte Jr., a Marine reservist, is expected to annouce today that he’s shipping out to Iraq and will miss the special session Gov. Rick Perry’s expected to call before June.

But Corte could name his temporary replacement during a press conference early this afternoon.

He’s held his House seat, which takes in a swath of San Antonio’s North Side, since 1993. He chairs the Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relation Committee, which deals with homeland security and military issues.

Across the aisle, a colleague of Corte’s faced a similar dilemma.

Last year, Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, missed the legislature’s regular session after his Army National Guard unit was called to active duty in Afghanistan. Noriega chose his wife, Melissa Noriega, to hold his seat until he returned.